Red Sox' Eduardo Rodriguez undergoes knee surgery

Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez underwent successful right knee reconstruction Tuesday, the club has announced. Rodriguez will begin pitching again in six months, putting the left-hander on track to return to big league action in May or June.

Rodriguez, 24, has dealt with knee problems extensively over the last two seasons, spending time on the disabled list in both 2016 and 2017. When healthy, however, Rodriguez has been a solid back-end starter for the Red Sox. In 24 starts in 2017, the Venezuelan posted a 4.19 ERA (3.97 FIP) and 9.8 K/9 across 137.1 innings. His 3.0 K/BB ratio was Rodriguez' best in three Major League seasons.

With Rodriguez' health a question mark going forward, Boston may be shopping this offseason for short-term starting pitching depth. In-house options include Steven Wright or Brian Johnson, both of whom made five starts for the Red Sox in 2017. Wright's 2016 was dominant (13-6, 3.33 ERA), but his 8.25 ERA last season indicate his fortunes may have turned. As for Johnson, the 26-year-old lasted longer than five innings in just two of his starts of his five career starts.

Rodriguez signed with the Orioles as an international free agent in 2010, and was later traded to the Red Sox in a 2014 deadline deal for Andrew Miller. In 366.0 career innings, Rodriguez has accrued 348 strikeouts and a 4.7 bWAR. The lefty will enter salary arbitration in 2019 and is under team-control in Boston through 2021.